Unmarked.
We are probably right in recognising as the earliest productions in pure white-bodied porcelain that have come down to us, a group, of which there are several fine examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum; one of these has been chosen for illustration in [Plate 2]. The class is characterised by a dense heavy body, massive form, and decoration, executed by means of coloured glazes, which are applied and fixed at a lower temperature after the first firing of the ware. The colours are confined to a full dark blue, turquoise-blue, straw-yellow, and a pale manganese-violet, to which sometimes an opaque white is added. In the greater number of cases the outline stands out in slight relief from the surface of the object, and is filled in with the coloured glazes in the same manner as the hollows in the copper base of a champlevé enamel. A similar technique is met with again in the so-called cuenca tiles made in Southern Spain in the sixteenth century. In some rare instances the vase is made with double sides, and the design is reserved in openwork by cutting through the outer casing. This type is represented at South Kensington by a large jar[1] decorated with a procession of soldiers, which stands out with bold effectiveness against the dark hollows of the pierced background.
[1] Illustrated in Dr. Bushell’s Chinese Art, vol. ii. fig. 12.
A fine example of the more usual method of decoration is the piece reproduced in [Plate 2]. It is a jar of large dimensions which has reached this country by way of Persia, and has been embellished there with a mounting of brass chased with inscriptions and medallions. The high esteem in which Chinese porcelain has been held for centuries in the Nearer East is evident from the pronounced Chinese influence manifested in Persian and Syrian art from an early period, while during the course of the Ming dynasty the export of porcelain from China to Western Asia grew enormously, and the imitation of Chinese motives became the predominant element of design in the indigenous wares of Persia. That country was the source which supplied a large part of the collection of Ming porcelain now exhibited at South Kensington.
The jar here illustrated is of characteristically solid material, only slightly translucent. Groups of crested wading birds among rocks and bushes of peony in blossom, the flower symbolical of spring in Chinese lore, form the main feature of the decoration. On the shoulder are lobed compartments enclosing the eight Buddhist “Emblems of Happy Augury.” Round the lower part are floral designs in shaped panels. The outlines, being slightly raised from the surface of the jar, form barriers by which the coloured glazes were kept from mingling one with another in the kiln. The harmonious hues serve to emphasise the bold and simple forms of the ornament, which seem thoroughly in keeping with the strong curves of the profile of the vase itself.
Other fine examples of this class exhibiting the same technique may be seen at South Kensington. Besides two large jars with processions of mounted soldiers, there are two smaller vases of the elongated pear shape which is also characteristic of this period. One of these, decorated with chrysanthemums and peonies, is remarkable for the full and rich colours of the glazes, while the other is of interest from the quaint figures on it with their primitive garb of sewn leaves. In a pair of square vases, probably early exponents of the style, an effect of solemn beauty has been obtained by the use of white and turquoise only on a manganese ground of dense purple.
PLATE 10
Bottle, “Medici porcelain,” made in Florence about 1580, with design of Oriental character in blue, outlined in manganese-purple. Height, 6-7/8 in.